McKayla Maroney Shares a Heartbreaking Tribute to Her Dad on the 2nd Anniversary of His Death
McKayla Maroney shared a heartbreaking tribute for her dad, Michael Maroney, to honor him on his death's 2nd anniversary.
Olympic Gold medalist McKayla Maroney wrote a heartbreaking tribute on her Instagram story to honor her father Michael Maroney's 2nd death anniversary.
Her dad died two years ago, in January 2019, and he was 59 years old. She and her brother posted heartbreaking messages about him at the time.
McKayla had tweeted that she did not want to believe that his passing was real. Her brother posted about his loss on Instagram, thanking his dad for everything he had taught him.
To honor her late father, McKayla shared a throwback photo of herself and her dad. In another slide, she detailed her loss and how she was feeling toward her dad. She wrote:
" I know he's at peace. I have zero doubts that he's doing good work up in the ethers."
A throwback photo from McKayla's Instagram story, January 2021. | Photo: Instagram/mckaylamaroney
Her tribute reflected her spiritual side as she went on to say that she could feel that his spirit had shifted and that it had become more divine, powerful, and blissful.
She opened up and shared that although her thoughts on his spirit made her happy for him, the flashbacks of the day of his death was "overwhelmingly sad."
In 2012, as a high school student, she became a gold medalist in the London Olympics.
She described that the sadness made her cry a lot, as she said she could literally cry "an ocean." Her touching and heartbreaking Instagram story ended with her saying that Michael had been an incredible father.
She went on to say that the grief would continue to be a process but that she felt he was now an angel watching over her and her family. Her tribute finished with:
I know and feel that he's a big angel watching over my whole family now. The grief will just continue to be a process."
McKayla Maroney wrote a heartfelt tribute to her dad. January, 2021. | Photo: Instagram/mckaylamaroney
McKayla had got her athleticism from her father as he was a former Purdue quarterback. Although she is now retired from the sport, McKayla was an accomplished gymnast.
In 2012, as a high school student, she became a gold medalist at the London Olympics. At the Olympic games, she also received a silver medal for vaulting.
Unfortunately, her athletic career was tainted as she had bravely revealed that she was sexually abused by Larry Nascar, the former and now disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor.
In an interview with NBC News, she revealed that the abuse had started almost immediately after seeing him as her doctor.